Acclivity
by UnderratedOver
Summary: And she knew she would rise up, higher than she was before. Set during/after chapter 416.


_So take care of everybody, alright?_

_See ya, Lucy!_

_-Natsu and happy_

The letter that seemed so out of place fell from her trembling hands,

"Wha-"

"What the hell?!"

The celestial mage turned around sharply, heading for the door with blurry vision. They were leaving? How could they do that to her? They were a team, weren't they? She pushed herself out the door of the building and faintly noticed the smell of tears.

'_Journey_?' She thought bitterly,

'_Training_?'

"A year?" She whispered, looking out to the glistening water in the canal by the street. She remembered about water and a spirit and a sacrifice and she just couldn't take it. She let out a choked sob and ran. She sprinted towards the direction of the guild, her family and the one place she felt like she was wanted.

Now, however, she didn't know what to do.

"What are you thinking, going on a trip just like that?!" She shouted at the space in front of her, shaking her head rapidly, "if they did something like that," her words were now barely above a whisper as salty tears continued to steam down her face.

"I'd be so lonely!"

Blonde hair swished around as she ran. The thought of having her best friend leave to who-knows-where for a year or more made a bitter feeling rise up in her chest. The feeling was so familiar, it made the her heart constrict painfully.

"Stupid" she announced, voice sounding exhausted and tired and like she just had enough. She's had enough love lost, she's had enough abandonment,

She's had enough loneliness.

Having people come and go from her life for the past 17 years seemed so unrealistic. Who on Earthland would be so unfortunate as to have person after person get so close to her, close enough to mean more than anything, before turning away at the wrong time.

They turned away when she needed them the most, her father when her mom died and Natsu when she lost a spirit. The celestial mage sighed as the remains of the guild came into view. After a final sniffle and an arm rubbing across her eyes, she walked into the rubble of what was once the guild hall.

She immediately saw master standing on a fallen pillar, looking over to the rest of the debris. She also could've sworn she saw Mira crying from her peripheral vision, but maybe that was just her mind playing tricks on her.

The sun was lowering itself on the horizon as she walked up to Master, coloring the sky beautiful shades of pink and orange.

Pink

_Natsu_

She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes tightly before walking to stand right in front of the 2-foot mage. She opened her mouth to say something but Master beat her to it.

"Is something the matter, Lucy?"

She looked down, watching the wind blow small bits of dirt and rock over her iconic black boots. She waited. For what? she didn't know. She sighed sadly before lifting her head to a small degree.

"What are you going to do about the guild hall?" She smiled slightly, "you could probably have Erza be the head builder again-

"Lucy-"

"-but I'm sure everyone will want to help out-"

"-we're not-"

"I can always call over my spi-"

"-we are not rebuilding it this time"

The blonde stilled, mouth held open. She waited for him to speak again, but she realized he wasn't joking,

_Not this time._

Her smile faltered and her expression fell, a familiar feeling began to rise up.

"W-what?" She managed to choke out, eyes beginning to become glossed over again by tears threatening to spill out. She waited, letting her hair float around her as the wind blew things around.

"It is already the end of an era" he stated simply, as if that was all that needed to be said.

But that wasn't enough explanation for Lucy.

Makarov seemed to understand her confusion, "It is time for everyone to move forward, to choose their own path-"

"But we're a family!" She yelled, the tears she fought so hard to keep from falling in front of Master, dripping and landing on the rocks below,

"What are we supposed to do now?" Her voice lowered. It was a question directed more to herself than to Master. She guessed he didn't know either.

'_What do I do?_'

The sky turned blue and purple as stars started to appear. Master Makarov sighed after a peaceful silence. He looked at her and opened his arms as she sniffled and bent down to hug the old man, probably suffocating him with her breasts, but she was sure he couldn't care less.

After they separated, Master nodded before swiftly hopping off the pillar, turning to look at her over his shoulder one final time before walking away into the night.

Lucy Heartfilia had never felt so alone.

It was as if the gods were punishing her for living, taking away everything that meant something to her away, taking away her family, friends, and home. _What would she do now? _

_Lucky Lucy Hearfilia_? If only her parents could see her now and what had become of her little_ 'nickname'. _The thought of her parents and everyone that cared for her made her tears keep flowing, never ending it seemed.

She looked up at the sky from her spot in the middle of the (supposed) guild hall, the sky seemed to match her mood,

Dark and _empty_.

She sighed before slumping her shoulders in depression. Just as she was about to walk away, something up in the sky twinkled. The celestial mage snapped her head back up in time to see a single, bright star shine alone in the opposing sky. She smiled bitterly, "seems like we're very alike, you and me," her smile turned sad, "what do I do, little star?"

After a few seconds, another twinkle caught the blonde's attention. Lucy gasped, lifting her right hand to her mouth as tears sprung up in her eyes once more. In the sky, hundreds of other starts started appearing as the sky got darker. Stars kept popping up, lighting up the sky in bright light. Even amongst all the other stars of the night, the one she saw first seemed brighter.

It shone brighter and more brilliant than all the others, sparkling right above her head. The mage lowered her hand down, catching a glimpse of the Fairy Tail insignia stamped there.

Her family.

She smiled, a happy one this time. As the remnants of her tears dried up, she started walking away and back towards the direction of her apartment.

Even if Natsu and Happy went off somewhere without her and even if Master practically said that Fairy Tail was null, they would still be a family. She knew everyone in Fairy Tail would treat each other like brothers and sisters and maybe even more.

By the time she got to her apartment, she was already smiling, _really_ smiling. She turned the knob of the door, which was unsurprisingly unlocked, pushed it, not surprised to find the lights on as well. Her smile grew wider as her eyes landed on the people lounging on her couch.

"Good evening, Lucy"

"Hello Lucy-San!"

"Sup"

"Hello love rival!"

She laughed and made her way towards them, listening in to a story Gray had and chuckling along with everyone when he said he had messed something up. She had so much fun, she had almost forgot about what she was worrying about earlier. She knew she would never forget, but that didn't mean she wouldn't get over it.

What would she do? She would keep living! She was sure that's what Natsu would've said if he were here. She would live on for everyone and get stronger. She would stand back up and rise, higher than she ever was before.

And just as Natsu had said in his letter, she would make sure to take care of everyone, and help keep their bigger-than-little family together.

**A/N:**

**Hai! So, I was at school and I saw chapter 416 and started reading it... I probably looked really weird to my classmates because of the many different emotions that were shown on my face XD **

**Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it or didn't, please say so in the box below (or in pm I guess :3) I would love to hear your opinions! **

**Please review~ it means a lot to someone like me**

**:3**


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